I've decided that I'd like to watch Doctor Who in hi-def, commercial free and without all the crap BBC America plasters on the screen. I already know how to download using torrents. I got a "We caught you!" email from Comcast last year when I used utorrent even though I used PeerBlock and want to avoid getting another one. I've heard that Usenet is the way to go. How do I get started? What client should I use? Is there a host I need an account on?

(Note: if the FBI is monitoring this thread, this is only for research purposes, sir!)

You need to see if your ISP gives you usenet access, first. If not, then you need to pay for a provider. Mine does, so I don't know what it entails to get a usenet account elsewhere.

But once you do, get SABnzbd and install it. It's basically a newsreader that uses your browser as a front end. Once installed, go to FileSharingTalk and sign up for a free account (use a disposable email, if you wish).

FST is a forum like this one, except it's where people post NZB files. These are basically little files that tell SABnzbd how to get the things you want off usenet. You search FST's forum for "doctor who" and it will give you results. Go to the thread of the episode you want (S06E01, in the case of the latest Doctor Who) and click Create NZB.

Instead of downloading it, I just hit "Run" from the dialog box. This loads the NZB file directly into SABnzbd and it starts fetching all the parts it needs from usenet, checks them, fixes them (if necessary), decompresses them all to the video you need, then deletes the unneeded files.

You need to see if your ISP gives you usenet access, first. If not, then you need to pay for a provider. Mine does, so I don't know what it entails to get a usenet account elsewhere.

But once you do, get SABnzbd and install it. It's basically a newsreader that uses your browser as a front end. Once installed, go to FileSharingTalk and sign up for a free account (use a disposable email, if you wish).

FST is a forum like this one, except it's where people post NZB files. These are basically little files that tell SABnzbd how to get the things you want off usenet. You search FST's forum for "doctor who" and it will give you results. Go to the thread of the episode you want (S06E01, in the case of the latest Doctor Who) and click Create NZB.

Instead of downloading it, I just hit "Run" from the dialog box. This loads the NZB file directly into SABnzbd and it starts fetching all the parts it needs from usenet, checks them, fixes them (if necessary), decompresses them all to the video you need, then deletes the unneeded files.

Easy peasy.

The other option is to go with a usenet provider like EasyNews, for example, that archives and indexes binaries from UseNet and provides an easy to use web page with a search engine. It's as easy as downloading from any other webpage.

Or so I've been led to believe. By others. Yeah, that's it.

Seriously, though, I've heard AstraWeb and GigaNews come highly recommended, but I have not used either service. Both have very high retention rates and reasonable costs.

1. Usenet provider. Most ISP's don't offer them anymore and the ones that do are slow speed. I use Astraweb. It's $11 a month and it's unlimited high speed.

2. Newsreader/Client - This is the program you use to download files from usenet. Normally this is done by importing an NZB file (see part 3) The nicer ones will not only download the file but will put all the pieces together and leave you with a finished file in a designated directory. Without that you would have to unrar the files yourself. Not to familiar with all that is out there but I use newsleecher.

3. NZB directory - NZB files are basically pointer files to all the pieces of a particular file.
There are a number of those out there. I use the search function in newsleecher for a small monthly fee, but there are a lot of free ones available.

That's all there is to it basically. It's much faster than torrents and typically more private and you don't have to worry about upload/download ratios.

If you still want to use torrents then try either uknova.com or thebox.bz. They are both excellent choices for UK originated shows. I've been a member of both for several years now and never gotten a nastygram from my isp about using them.

You will need to pay for a premium usenet provider. There are two kinds of usenet accounts. One is unlimited. You pay a monthly fee (as low as $9.99) and you are allowed to download as much as you want without limits.

The second one is when you prepay for a certain amount of Gigs.They are called Block Accounts. For example you could pay a one time fee of $20 for 200 gigs of download credit. Those 200 gigs don't expire and can be used anytime you wish without loosing them from inactivity. Everything you download is subtracted from that 200 gigs until you have used them all up. When you used them up you would have to buy more usenet block credit. If your not a heavy down loader then a Block account might be cheaper for you. Block accounts are one off charges and don't expire. They can be made to last months or years depending how much you download. They are good to use when getting started using usenet.

I use an usenet provider called Blocknews.net for my usenet block accounts. Great prices and customer service.

Another thing about usenet is the ability to use SSL encryption when downloading from usenet servers. So, not even your ISP will know what your downloading.

If you decide to go for unlimited I recommend an usenet providers called "Astraweb.com" and "Usenetnow.net". Both charge around $11-12 a month for unlimited.

Stay away from Giganews. They are very very expensive. There are many cheaper alternatives that provide good service.

The learning curve for usenet is slightly more then torrents but once you get the basic down it's a breeze. With usenet you download at max speed immediately and all the time. No ratios to worry about and much safer.

Another thing about usenet is the ability to use SSL encryption when downloading from usenet servers. So, not even your ISP will know what your downloading.

If you decide to go for unlimited I recommend an usenet providers called "Astraweb.com" and "Usenetnow.net". Both charge around $11-12 a month for unlimited.

Stay away from Giganews. They are very very expensive. There are many cheaper alternatives that provide good service.

On Blocknews and Usenetnow (same peeps but caters to different market setments for usenet). An additional bonus for those guys is that takedown notices are few and far between. Giganews, a big usenet provider, gets them quite frequently so completing DLs of older shows can be a hassle.

I use usenetserver.com as my usenet provider. I've been using them for like 8-10 years. In the beginning, they were a little shakey, but have been rock solid for years. I think I pay $35-40 every 3 months for service. They used to only be $10/month. I was fine with the price increase as they are very reliable, fast and keep a lot of history.

I've been using GrabIT as my binary extractor for a number of years on PC. I use Unison on my MacBook. GrabIT has a search feature that they charge like $20 a year for. From within GrabIT, I do a search like "Doctor Who x264" and it shows me everything. I then just download which episode I want. GrabIT also automatically merges the RAR files if you download at least one PAR file.

According to Comcast, I downloaded 241 GB of data last month. A lot of that was off usenet. I rarely use bit torrent.

Others have covered the basics of getting set up, so I will just add that in addition to SABnzbd that IndyJones1023 mentioned, you should look into a program called Sick Beard, which will allow you to set up shows to watch for and automatically download when they appear (like a TiVo!). Sick Beard + SABnzbd + XBMC + HTPC = pure happiness.

For dead simple Windows usenet client that will handle all the basics try 'Unzbin'. It's free. It's good for people just starting to learn usenet. While Sabnzbd is better, it's more complicated to set up. At least at first. "Unzbin" might be a better start to get your feet wet.

Others have covered the basics of getting set up, so I will just add that in addition to SABnzbd that IndyJones1023 mentioned, you should look into a program called Sick Beard, which will allow you to set up shows to watch for and automatically download when they appear (like a TiVo!). Sick Beard + SABnzbd + XBMC + HTPC = pure happiness.

I will double and triple thumbs up this recommendation of
SickBeard +Sabnzbd +XBMC +HTPC and add in CouchPotato to equate to pure happiness.

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When you do the math, it's very economical. By just downloading one DVD/Bluray, music CD, or video game a month you come out ahead money wise. With Netflix you get to watch the content you stream but not keep a hard copy. The content you download from usenet you get to keep. Even if you cancel your usenet account, the content you downloaded before is still available to you. Burn it to DVD/Bluray/CD. Play it on your computer, Bluray Player, hand held.

I'm not slamming Netflix. I think it's great. I just get more bang for my buck from usenet then I could from Netflix.

This thread has got me thinking to start using usenet again. I go through spurts of using it and then not using it for weeks and weeks so I got tired of paying for a service I wasn't using.

Never heard of the "block accounts". May have to research that a bit more. It's great theat they don't expire. Is there any type of contract you have to agree to or could it be a once time deal? Any disadvantage to it?

This thread has got me thinking to start using usenet again. I go through spurts of using it and then not using it for weeks and weeks so I got tired of paying for a service I wasn't using.

Never heard of the "block accounts". May have to research that a bit more. It's great theat they don't expire. Is there any type of contract you have to agree to or could it be a once time deal? Any disadvantage to it?

No contract. You pay a one off fee for the amount of GIGS you want and that's it. There is no reoccurring fee. No expiration. You can go weeks, months, years without use and they will be waiting for you.

Only disadvantage is if you are a big down loader or suddenly turn into one. If you download say around 50+ gigs EVERY month, then block accounts would be expensive. An unlimited usenet account would likely be better.

The way you describe your prior usenet downloading habits, block accounts sound like it would be the way to go.

I use usenetserver.com as my usenet provider. I've been using them for like 8-10 years. In the beginning, they were a little shakey, but have been rock solid for years. I think I pay $35-40 every 3 months for service. They used to only be $10/month. I was fine with the price increase as they are very reliable, fast and keep a lot of history.

Brighthouse in Central Florida uses Newshosting as their default provider. Very good retention and completion. I still have a grandfathered Giganews account where I pay $99 for 100GB that I use as a "backup" server with SABnzbd.

Check out what your ISP provides. I've had ISPs use SuperNews, Giganews and now Newshosting as their providers. Chances are you're paying for a usenet provider to your ISP and may not even know it!

Brighthouse in Central Florida uses Newshosting as their default provider. Very good retention and completion. I still have a grandfathered Giganews account where I pay $99 for 100GB that I use as a "backup" server with SABnzbd.

Check out what your ISP provides. I've had ISPs use SuperNews, Giganews and now Newshosting as their providers. Chances are you're paying for a usenet provider to your ISP and may not even know it!

$99 for 100GB? That's a rip off. For $91.39 you could buy 1 Terabyte from Blocknews.net with 981+ days of retention.

Are you able to use SSL on your Brighthouse Newshosting usenet? What is the retention?

Most ISP's have dumped their usenet service (binaries) in cost cutting measures. Not all but the majority.